Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson remained in the intensive care unit at Duke Medical Center on Monday recovering from surgery after falling ill from a cardiac event.

Maj. Shelton Brown of the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office said that Johnson’s wife, Pat, had called the ACSO to provide them with an update on Johnson’s condition on Monday. Duke Medical Center officials decided to keep Johnson in the intensive care unit for another day and hoped to move Johnson to a regular hospital room on Tuesday, according to Brown.

“His wife is asking everyone to keep him in their prayers,” Brown said.

Brown said that Johnson has rested well since his surgery and was expected to have a full recovery. Chief Deputy Tim Britt is currently in charge of the ACSO while Johnson is at the hospital, Brown said.

County Manager Craig Honeycutt informed the county commissioners during a board meeting on Monday about Johnson’s condition. Honeycutt said Johnson would likely have a long recovery process.

“He came out of surgery yesterday for a cardiac event,” Honeycutt said. “It came out well and I think they are very happy with the progress and happy with the surgery and expecting a full recovery.”

The sheriff was taken to a hospital on Saturday. The sheriff’s office released a statement about the incident Sunday afternoon. It stated the sheriff had undergone “corrective procedures” and is expected to make a full recovery.

Johnson is serving his third term as sheriff – first elected in 2002, then re-elected in 2006 and 2010. He has been re-elected by wide margins on both occasions – garnering about 61 percent of the vote in 2010 and 65 percent in 2006. Johnson is Alamance County’s first Republican sheriff since 1954. He received his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice at East Carolina University and is a graduate of the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation Academy.

Johnson, 62, worked as a sheriff’s deputy in Pitt County for a year before joining the SBI. He retired from the SBI in 2001. Johnson, and his wife, Pat, have two children.